POSTPONED Academic Writing (free writing) Day

POSTPONED Academic Writing (free writing) Day

Facilitated by Nikki Woods, CfAP

THIS WORKSHOP WILL NOW RUN AS A SUMMER SCHOOL DAY
ON JULY 13TH 2016. Book your place at https://freewritessjuly16.eventbrite.co.uk

If you booked this workshop on May 11th you will have been sent an email cancelling your place. Apologies for any inconvenience.

This Academic Writing Day is designed for doctoral students who wish to gain an understanding of academic writing and who wish to develop and enhance their existing writing skills. It is a practical day which offers a comfortable environment in which to write and a workshop session on writing abstracts with Dr Neil Raven. Also, it is an opportunity to engage with other doctoral students, share writing experiences and develop further writing skills in free-writing sessions. Free-writing is the technique to write continuously for a set period of time on a topic to generate new ideas and thoughts with no regard to the general applied writing rules. Please note, CfAP does not proof read any student work.

9.15am coffee and registration

9.30-9.45am Good Morning: Outline for the day
9.45-11.45am Writing think pieces and abstracts: Dr Neil Raven (* see below)
11.45am-12.45pm Free writing sesssion 1

12.45-1.30pm Lunch

1.30-2.00pm A Supervisor's words of wisdom (Prof. Philip Garner)
2.00-2.45pm Developing our writing skills together (sharing experiences)

2.45-3pm Break

3.00-3.45pm Free Writing Session 2
3.45-4.15 My PhD Writing Journey: Stories from full-time and part-time PhD students
4.15-4.30pm: Network, questions and close

* 9:45-11:45am: Think pieces and abstracts - facilitated by Dr Neil Raven.

Workshop Summary: Whilst much academic writing, including the PhD itself, is associated with long pieces of work comprising many thousands of words, there is value in being able to complement this skill with writing in a more concise form. This ability is required in producing think pieces. Also referred to as opinion or viewpoint pieces, these represent a form of writing that is gaining academic recognition. Whilst they might appear in journals, think pieces have a potentially broader application, since they can also be found in newsletters, e-bulletins and blogs. The same skills are also required in preparing abstracts. Although these often accompany articles, they can also be used in the selection of conference papers, and so there is value in being able to master the skill of writing abstracts.

This workshop begins by exploring the character, purpose and value of the think piece and abstract, before allocating time to support participants in planning and preparing their own short paper.

Those wishing to attend this workshop are expected to have given some initial consideration to a subject associated with their research that would be suitable for developing into a short paper.

Learning objectives: By the end of the workshop, participants will have:

• Gained an understanding of the nature and character of the think piece and abstract
• Explored the think piece and abstract as forms of academic writing
• Considered the value of both forms of writing to their professional development
• Gained an appreciation of how to plan and structure a short piece of writing
• Prepared an outline for a think piece or abstract of their own.

About the facilitator: Dr Neil Raven is an independent researcher, educational consultant and visiting postgraduate tutor at various UK-based universities. Prior to setting up his own business, Neil oversaw a number of Aimhigher and university-based programmes aimed at widening higher education participation and, before that, was a lecturer in modern economic and social history. Neil has published widely, notably in the fields of economic and social history, and post-compulsory education, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

This workshop is open to any student currently registered on a research degree programme at the University of Northampton. Further information is available from Simone Apel (simone.apel@northampton.ac.uk; 01604 893418).